I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Marathon, Meh, Try Running a Mile.” Basically this article suggests that running at a faster pace as hard as you can for a shorter period of time demonstrates greater benefits than running a full out marathon. The article states that, “A small but growing body of research suggests that the benefits of endurance athletics may eventually diminish or disappear for longtime practitioners.”

Another interesting point the article brings to the surface is, “A 30 minute workout of 10 minute intervals of intense exercise and recovery has been shown to improve aerobic capacity, skeletal muscle oxidative capacity, exercise tolerance and markers of disease risk.'”

So next time you’re planning that 10+ mile run, maybe hit the track instead and try running some sprints. You’ll save yourself some time and possibly get more out of the workout for your overall health.